Tag Archives: manhood

Real Men and Lava Soap

When it comes right down to it, the type of soap you use has nothing to do with whether you’re a real man or not. Unless of course, you’ve been using Oil of Olay or any type of bath bar. In which case, you should seriously reconsider.

With that said, I’ve noticed a lot of television commercials for men’s soap recently (with the Old Spice ones clearly dominating the field) and so I thought I’d throw in my own two-cents on the subject. After all, if a real man is supposed to be comfortable in his own skin, shouldn’t we try to make our own skin comfortable?

Lava soap is, as M.C. Hammer might say, “Too legit to quit.” I mean, just look at the packaging. It’s simple and practical. It’s red, black, white (all very masculine colors) and it has a picture of a mountain in the background. And it’s not some mamby pamby pristine mountain top either. It’s a volcano. A volcano that could, at any given moment, violently explode without warning spewing tons of ash and fire into the atmosphere grounding all of the flights in Europe for over a week. And that’s just the packaging.

When I tear into a bar of Lava soap, I never cease to be amazed at the beauty and simplicity of these little green bars of manliness. I mean, sure, it’s just a bar of soap. But this is no ordinary soap. As the packaging says, it’s PUMICE POWERED! I like to refer to it as scruffy soap.

It’s the kind of soap that you instantly know can manhandle any amount of dirt or grease on your person at any time. Axel grease, no problem. Manure, easy. Motor oil, piece of cake.

It’s the kind of soap that a woman would only use on the heals of her feet. Don’t even try using it on a child unless you want to be ridden with guilt over the pain and anguish you’ll inevitably inflict on their tender young skin.

This is man soap. Lever 2000 may be good for all your 2000 body parts, but there’s a reason they call it LEVER and that’s because it LEAVES dirt and grime behind. Not Lava. Lava will literally scrape everything off that Lever leaves behind, including the top layer of your skin if you’ve been pampering it with Olay or some other ladies bath bar.

If you’re already using Irish Springs, Ivory, Zest, or some other gender-neutral soap product, please don’t hear me saying you have to go out and switch to Lava in order to be a real man. However, if you find yourself in the market for a new type of soap at any point in the near future, let me encourage you to give Lava a try. You won’t regret it (Unless of course you’re a baby, in which case you will regret it because it will make you cry. Then again, if you’re a baby, you’re probably not buying soap for yourself yet).

If you’re not convinced yet, perhaps the ultimate stamp of approval for Lava soap is this: it’s the only soap I know of that is regularly sold in hardware stores.

Lava soap… it’s pumice powered, so you know it’s good.

Last Minute Ladies, I’m Your Man

OK last minute ladies, after today, you only have two days left on the calendar to buy the perfect Christmas gift for the men in your lives. Don’t worry though, M&M is here for you just in the Saint Nick of time. Think of me as your very own procrastination destroying Elf on the Shelf.

For those of you deliberate last-minute shoppers who already know what you’re buying but for some reason get a rush out of braving the mall madness the last few days before Christmas, this post is not for you. In fact, I feel you on the last-minute shopping bidness. While I merely dabble in it personally, I do enjoy myself some serious people watching each year at the mall come December 23rd and 24th. It’s like the State Fair, only they don’t charge admission. The only thing that would make it better would be if I could chow down on a corn dog, a funnel cake, and maybe some fresh squeezed lemonade while watching the freak show that is last-minute shopping madness. And though that’s not the point of this post, a guy can dream can’t he?

So it’s December 22nd and you’re at a loss for what to buy that special dude. Maybe he’s your boyfriend, maybe your husband or brother, or maybe he’s your dad. Don’t worry, I’ve been all four at one point or another in my life and I’ve got you covered on all fronts. However, if you’re looking for a specific list of concrete suggestions, this post might not help you. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for general advice to get your own gift-giving juices flowing, then read on my deadline defying friend.

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A Conscientous Objection to Fantasy Football

Each year I get at least two or three invites to participate in some new Fantasy Football league that’s just popped up. When I don’t sign-up, the question always comes up, “Why didn’t you join the Fantasy Football league?” My answer: I hate Fantasy Football. Loathe it. Not because of what it is, but because of what it does to so many otherwise intelligent and rational people. I liken it to heroine as it turns normal dudes into crazy-eyed, stat geeks who at some point inevitably cross the line into the realm of the one unforgivable sin of football fandom: cheering for an arch-rival because you need the points. It’s like being a University of Oklahoma fan rooting for Texas to score in the Red River Shootout because roommates Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley happen to be on your Fantasy Football team.

OK. Enough with the intro. Here’s my list of 10 reasons why I am a Fantasy Football conscientious objector.

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Real Men and Oak Trees

A comment exchange from a previous post got me thinking about an idea I first read in a book by Gordon MacDonald. I don’t remember the exact book and I really don’t even remember if it is, in fact, a quote by him. Nonetheless, the concept obviously stuck with me even if I don’t remember who actually said it.

A real man is, in many ways, a lot like an oak tree.

The wood of an oak tree is more dense than that of just about any other tree in the forest. This quality makes the oak tree one of the strongest and most hardy of all trees. Because oak wood is also high in tannin, it is extremely resistant to insect and fungus attacks as well. Without getting too deep into the science of tree hardiness, the gist of the matter is that oak trees are the mountain men of the tree world.

In its full glory, an oak tree is one of the most impressive looking trees in existence. It provides shade from the sun, shelter from storms, and it’s acorns are not only a great source of food for squirrels but they grow up to be mighty oak trees themselves.

The roots of an oak tree are extremely deep and extensive. A mature oak tree can draw up to 50 gallons of water per day out of the soil around it.

Because of the strength of its wood, the oak tree is one of the most useful types of timber known to man. Since the middle ages, people have been building impressive structures out of oak: palaces, naval ships, fine furniture, treasure chests… just to name a few.

However, despite the great strength of the oak tree and its hardy resistance to attacks from external pests, when an oak tree does fall, it is often sudden and without warning.

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Real Men are Philosophers

A real man is a philosopher.

While it’s certainly important to be a man of action, a real man also takes the time to ponder the important questions of life.

Why am I here? What am I accomplishing? What’s important? How will I be remembered? How can we make the world a better place? Why is there suffering in the world? How is the world changing and how should we respond? Why is there a very distinct hierarchy (Taco Cabana, followed by Taco Bueno, followed by Taco Bell, followed by Taco Mayo) among fast food Mexican restaurants? What are the important ideas of my time?

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